My daughter, Millie, has been in a Selena Gomez phase here lately. She’s been listening to her a lot on the Ipod & she wanted a Selena Gomez party. I swear I kept hearing Selena sing “Oh, oh, oh it’s Magic…you know…” during Erin & Steve’s wedding! There day was picture perfect and magical is about the best way to describe it! I consider myself so incredibly blessed that I was chosen to capture their magic!
There were married at Trinity Lutheran Church in Soulard in St. Louis, Missouri. Soulard is full of history & was the perfect setting for the wedding. The church was gorgeous & was full of natural light, which I loved!! (quick side note to future brides…when choosing a location for your ceremony, choose a location with lots of natural light!) I arrived in time to capture the last few touchups of makeup and of Erin getting into her dress. Her friends were so sweet and just took such great care of her as she got ready…she knew how to pick some amazing bridesmaids to have by her side that day!
After the makeup was done & the dress was on, it was time for the ceremony to begin. (see…I told you the church was gorgeous!!) The minister had such a way of connecting with them and truly made their ceremony all about them and captured their personalities so well!After the ceremony, we headed to Forest Park to get some photos before it was time for the reception. It was Earth day celebration at Forest Park and there were tables and vendors EVERYWHERE!! Thankfully the groomsmen jumped right in and helped me move some out of the way so we could get the shot below! You can’t tell from this angle, but there are tons of tables behind them!Erin…you are so gorgeous. Seriously breathtaking.Our next spot at Forest Park was full of people getting family photos done, a couple of wedding parties, and high school students getting their prom photos done. I was beginning to feel like I was on a TLC type show…”Photography Challenge” That…or I was on Punked. We dodged people left and right and I just laid on the ground in crazy positions to get all of the extras out of our photos that day. It completely paid off! This one below makes me swoon. It would be a gorgeous 20×30 canvas hanging above a couch!Isn’t this waterfall area beautiful??? This wedding party knew how to rock it!After we finished up at Forest Park, we headed to the reception venue, which was directly behind the church where they got married. The reception was held at the Ninth Street Abbey which is an old church that has been converted into a gorgeous reception venue. Amazing!!
It was truly a special, magical day. Erin & Steve, thank you so much for choosing me to be the one to photograph your day! Also, a big thanks to Erin for sharing with us who took care of all of the details from her day!
Vendor Information (click on the names for links to the sites):
Wedding Planner- Myself and my mother
Hair and Bridesmaid’s Makeup- Adam and Eaves
Bride’s Makeup- Jennifer Brimm
Florist- Bella Fiori
Church- Trinity Lutheran
Reception- Ninth Street Abbey
Cupcakes and Cake- Jilly’s Cupcake Bar
Dress– Amore Today’s Bridal and Fashions made by La Sposa
Tuxes- Savvi Formalwear
Soloist- Toni Oestmann, bridesmaid
Graphic Design (Monogram Creation, Program Design, Favor Stickers, Fascinator)- Ellsworth Designs
Graphic Design (Invitations, Reception Signage)- Jackie Baker
DJ and Lighting- Millennium Productions
Photo “Booth”- Fish Eye Fun
First dance song– “Better Together” by Jack Johnson
How did the two of you meet?
Steve and I attended the same middle school and high school, but we did not become good friends until senior year. After high school, we went separate ways to colleges in different states, but remained close. We always had such a great time hanging out during breaks and summers, it only seemed right to try dating. Obviously…the rest is history!
How did he propose…and what made you say yes?
Since we live in Houston and most of our family is in St. Louis, we spend a majority of Christmas in Missouri every year. The night before we were supposed to fly out, Steve surprised me with plane tickets to Chicago instead of St. Louis. Chicago had always been (and always will be) very special to us since we had spent two previous trips there during the Christmas season. Steve booked us a room in the hotel we stayed at the first time we visited Chicago, which I thought was super sweet, but I did not yet see the connection. When I woke up on our first morning in Chicago, Steve told me he had ordered room service for breakfast. Again, my thought is, that is so nice, he knows I love hotel breakfast, but no connection. When the breakfast came, the hotel concierge brought the trays in and set them on the bed, but (much to his dismay) one of the lids fell off revealing a navy blue ring box. Instinctively, I tried to convince myself that it was a necklace or bracelet so I wouldn’t get all worked up. However, I did work myself up and the words out of my mouth were “What is that?”, which in turn he responded with getting down on one knee and asking me to marry him. There hadn’t been a doubt in my mind I wouldn’t have said yes since our very first date.
What was your favorite memory from your wedding day?
Seeing the look on his face when they opened the doors and I walked down the aisle. I made the mistake of glancing at a couple of aunts, which made me cry, but the moment I stared straight at him with his BEAMING smile, I felt lighter than air. I would not trade that feeling for anything.
What was your favorite detail from your wedding day?
My whole goal was to make sure everyone had a great time and I think we definitely accomplished that with the Fish Eye Fun photo booth.
What was your something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue?
Something old was the piece of my mother-in-law’s dress we sewed into the inside of mine and the fascinator my sister-in-law made from the lace of my mom’s veil. Something new were my shoes (and they were fabulous!), jewelry, dress, and veil. Something borrowed was my mother-in-law’s opal ring. Something blue was my mother’s garter from her wedding.
Any advice you would give to future brides and grooms?
Take just a minute to take pictures of every detail you zoom by. I am so happy I snapped a few quick pictures of the centerpieces and our cake because I barely remember them! The whole day was a wonderful blur, like a dream.
Would you change anything if you could do it all over again?
Nothing at all. I couldn’t be more blessed!
Where did you go on your honeymoon?
St. Lucia- We stayed at Calabash Cove and we highly recommend it!
Anything else you’d like to include on the blog post from your day?
It was such an honor to have Kellie involved in our wedding day. She was very upbeat, on task, and quick on her feet when presented with an interesting situation. My second favorite moment of the day was stopping at a gas station restroom so Kellie, my maid-of-honor, and my sister-in-law could clean off the bottom of my dress after we got a little too happy in some very dark mud and flowers. I appreciated her ability to keep cool under pressure which in turn made me feel like everything was going to be 100% O.K.. On top of this and Earth Day in Forest Park, she proved to be totally awesome at every turn. Thank you, Kellie! Our memories will forever be more beautiful because of you!
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These are gorgeous, Kellie!! You are SO talented. That tree picture is to die for. Erin looks stunning in every single one